The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-01-21

This law contained provisions Tor rrsteeting the
fish supply in Lake Superior, Lake MichissaIi
| and Green bay.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
In the reorganization of this bureau, in 1885,
| the offices of deputy commissioner, factory in
spector and clerk were added The expenses
/ OF the bureau. up to the close of the biennial
| period, were S12,4I0.S5, exclusive of printing.
! The report of the commissioners contains the
4 laws enacted ii the interest of labor, q
history, OF the recent strikes and in
! dustrial disturbances, including the eight
| large amount of valuable Information on labor
subjects generally, together with statistical in
formation relating to the trades and manufaet-
uring.
NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION
The commissioner appointed to represent the
State of Wisconsin at the New Orleans Expo
sition IN 1884 has middle his faal report, and out
OF the appropriation made by the Legislature
to defray the expenses of the Wisconsin ex-
hibit, he has returned to the treasury
the sum of S2,043.73. The law making this
appropriation made no provision for
providing for expenses only, and should
il seem proper to compensate him for his serv-
ICES; the LEGISLATURE should make the necess
sary provision therefor. The exhibit made by
the State was most creditabl6 one; and ala
though made Under adverse CIRCUMSTANCES; the
fact that Wisconsin secured the highest NUM-
Der OF awards shows that Mr. Holt9n per-
formed his duties with sagacfty ard untiring eff
| forts, and that he thoroughly appreciated the
important interests of the State.
EDUCATION.
The high standing the State of Wisconsin
now has in all branches of industry is largely
due to the liberal spirit and good judgment with
which the people support the educational sys-
TEN of the State The proportion of persons who
can not read or write is very small, and they
reside mostly in large cities. The common
schools are eagefly Sought; and the percentage
of Attendance is equal to that Of any State in
the Union: Z,
There was collected by the State, and distrb-
uted to counties for educational purposes, in
1885. 0915.20, and in 1881. $780, 06399. OF this
last amount, SiS8, 139!61 was derived from the
| one-mill tax provided by the last Legislature.
would call your attention TO the valuable re-
port of the Superintendent of Public InStTuc-
ton, and the notifications of the laws recon-
mended by him. In the distribution of the
moneys to cOtnties the law, in one section, re-
| Quires the school districts to raise an amount
! equal to that received from the State, and hi
another section they are, apparently, required
to raise but One-half the amount apportioned
before being entitled to receive the State
money. These differences in the law should be
harmoniZed.
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN.
The University of Wisconsin, 1 believe, has
made commendable progress during the past
two years. The attendance has increased, and
| JnG WOfA Oh f6Du4lU1HB bQ6 H66Q6Q structures,
| for which the Legislature ut its last session
made provision. has progressed in a very sub
stantial manner l am pleased to note; i'll this
connection. the practical utility and Importance
of the technical instruction of the university,
as shown by the large amount of work done
upon the new buildings by the faculty and
students in the mechanical departments.
| These departments demonstrate the worth of
practical education in useful arts and are being
more highly appreciated year by year.
The Agricultural Experiment Station has
proven to be of great value to the agricultural
| interests of the State, and our farmers are
| eagerly availing themselves of the useful and
| practical information disseminated through
| its bulletins. The Agricultural Department
adopted Short course In agriculture, to meet q
need for such instruction, and while there is no
doubt of the value of this course, sufficient time
| has not elapsed to demonstrate whether it will
| prove successful.
AGRICULTURE.
Agriculture is, beyond question, the leading
| industry of our State, with more capital invest
| ed and more labor empl yed than all other in
| terests combined, and it deserves, and should
| receive, most generous consideration. Pros
perlty In this industry brings prosperity to all
| others. There have been various propositions
| presented heretofore in the interest of agri-
| culture and It's coordinate branches During
| the session of 1885 a b II was introduced pro-
| viding for q separate Agricultural College: At
| that time the farmers OF the State were divided
| in opinion as to the necessity for such an inSti-
tuition, and the bill failed to receive the ap-
|
The dairy interests of Wisconsin have grown
to such magnitude and are of such vast import
! ance to the prosperity of the people, that am
| pie protection should be afforded them The
| last Legislature passed law similar to that OF
| the State of New York, protecting the dairy in
! terest against the sale ofimitation butter. The
| New York law has been decided unconStitution-
| al by the courts Of that State and while no test
| OF the conStitutionality OF our law has been
| made in the courts of Wisconsin, + am of the
| opinion that the law should be so changed as to
! afford the desired projection, and remove all
! doubts as to it's being in conflict with the con-
| stitution
! The Legislature of 1885 made provision for
| holding Farmers Institutes, by yearly appro-
priation of 5000 to defray expenses. There
| can be no doubt that the Institutes have been
! productive of good results, and the increased
| interest in them the past year is the best evi-
! deuce of the appreciation in which they are
| held The results of the experience of the
| leading farmers and dairymen are given at these
! Institutes to those of our farmers who are suf-
| ficently interested in their calling to avail
| themselves of them, and the information
| gained by the discussions at these meetings
| has proven of great practical benefit. I would
recommend an increase of the appropriation
| for this purpose
| The office Of State Veterinarian, whose duty
it should be to investigate infectious and con
| tagious diseases of domestic animals was Gre
ated by the last Legislature, Under this law l
appointed VI t; Atkinson; V. S.; of Milwaukee,
| and his labors have been almost wholly con-
fined to the investigation of CHAMBERS, which
| have existed among the horses in many parts OF
| the State. AS the law now stands it is defective
| in several particulars and should be so amended
| as to accomplish the objects for which it is in
! pended. The expenses of this officer and the
| amounts paid the owners for diseased horses
slaughtered aggregated the sum of S6,037.72.
INSURANCE.
! I am induced to believe that the insurance
laws might be modified to some extent, so as
TO be more beneficial to the business interests
! of the State. The rate OF insurance seems to
| be increasing throughout the State HE the
| insurance companies claim that they are max
| ing no profits upon their business. AS the law
| now stands, in case of total loss, the insurance
company must pay the full amount for which
| the property is insured, without regard to its
value. This law has created a tendency to over
| insurance. and this over-insurance has in many
cases. no doubt been the cause of the destruc-
| ton of the property by fire. either by engen-
| dering feeling OF carelessness or by
! direct incendiarism. Could some law
be SO framed as to do away with this tendency,
| and at the same time not to relieve the in
! surance companies from the over-Zealous acts
of their agents in insuring property for more
| than two-thirds of its value, believe il would
work reduction of the rates of insurance, and
| be of great value to the people. TO secure
| proper care, the owner should have some in
| tereSt in the property that would not be made
good to him in case of loss. The owner should
| not be permitted to recover more than two
thirds of the value of the property de-
! stroyed, and at the same time I believe the
|
| from paying all they contract to pay. This end
| can be accomplished by enacting a law that will
forfeit to the State, to go to the school fund.- as
other forfeitures and penalties, all that part of
! the sum contracted for in the policy of in
| surance that is above two-thirds Of the value of
| the property destroyed.
| also deem it proper to call the attention of
| the Legislature to the growing tendency of in
Surance companies to combine in fixing the
rates of insurance and the division of business.
| While competition may regulate this, and the
| insurance companies may not fix unreasonable
| rates, the matter is one peculiarly for the con-
| sideration of the Legislature.
| l would also urge upon you the wisdom of
changing the law providing for the collection of
penalties from insurance companies not Ii
censed by the State. The law no doubt, should
provide for the prompt and effective enforce
! ment of all penalties and forfeitures against
companies seeking to avoid the payment of
their license fees, but the division of the re-
coVeries with the officer l believe to be
wrong. The officer upon whom devo1ves the duty
of enforcing these laws should have adequate
compensation for his services, and all the ex-
penses should be borne by the State: but the
officer should perform his entire duty to the
State without contingent interest depending
upon the activity or energy with which his du-
ties are performed. The Legislature have the
undoubted right to enact the law as it stands
to-day, and the present law was approved be-
cause the subject is one upon which the policy
should be determined by the Legislature.
RAILROADS.
1t is interesting to note the progress Of the